


This World Where We Can Meet

by autumntea



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-14 20:13:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14143662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumntea/pseuds/autumntea
Summary: He’s disappointed and unsure of what to do next, but he's not angry. At least, he's not angry with Red.There's a myriad of emotions inside Green that he doesn't know what to do with. He doesn't know what to do next, now that he reached the goal that he had been aiming for since before he even knew how to read or write and it had been swept away from him in only a week. He doesn't know what to do to make himself breathe easy again. He hasn't had the chance to breathe in what feels like months.Maybe he is a little angry with Red. He doesn't really know at this point.





	This World Where We Can Meet

Roughly a year after Green becomes the gym leader of Viridian, an unexpected challenger barges her way into the gym and decimates his trainers.

He’s in his office when the battles start, but he's not surprised that she’s finally made her way here. He’s heard rumors of the mysterious Blue.  After all, it wasn't every day when a new trainer went all over Kanto and took on the gym leaders one by one. Maybe a dozen people managed to pass through the all of the gyms every year; Kanto was known for having one of the best gym leagues for a reason. None of them had been Champion level though.

Green follows online forums whenever he can; after all, he felt obligated in an attempt to keep up with the few who managed to beat his team and proceed onwards to either the rest of the challenge or Victory Road. None of them had actually managed to defeat the entire Elite Four yet, of course. The forums also kept him updated on the up and coming trainers in Kanto. Whoever this Blue person was, they were causing a storm in said forums that he hadn't seen since he and Red had been collecting the badges. So it was only natural that he paid attention to this person who not only had a similar naming scheme, but who also had potential to be a strong opponent. He knew that it was only a matter of time until they came to the Viridian gym to challenge him... He just didn't expect for the trainer to be _her_ of all people.

"Trainers from Pallet sure have this odd habit of being named after colors, don't they?" Leaf says, lifting her chin with pride. A wry smile graces her lips as she tucks her hair behind her ear. Her left hand is tense near the pokeballs on her belt. Green can't help but notice that she's wearing the matching pair of gloves that his sister had bought Green, Red, and Leaf before their journey had started nearly two years ago.

She looks confident and sure of herself.

It takes him a moment to unhinge his jaw, but in the meantime, his mind is racing like a Dodrio at a track meet. Last he had seen of her had been maybe around three or four months ago, a while after ‘Blue’ had made a clean sweep of the Cerulean and Vermillion gyms. But things had unquestionably changed. Back then, he knew that she had been barely sleeping, but then again, who was? Now, the dark circles under her eyes have dramatically lessened. Her hair was shorter now than he could ever remember it being, not even reaching her shoulders, barely reaching her chin.  But the changes were not solely cosmetic. She was eighteen now, but the aura around her was anything but. That was always the thing about her and Red though; the twins had always held themselves differently than other people their age. They always seemed more mature than all of the the rest of the kids in Pallet. Green had envied that in secret when they were younger and about to head out on their journeys. Now though... well, he had grown up a lot the past year too.

It sounds ridiculous - because it is ridiculous, especially since he used to challenge anything with a pulse and generally wasn’t against rematches - but Green knows that he hasn't battled Leaf since the day they left Pallet for the first time. He met up with her plenty of times when they were traveling Kanto and he knew her team, but never had he asked her to battle again after he had won. He had always assumed that she never really cared for competitive battling and frankly, he had always been more focused on Red and he knows it.

They had always been close, but Red had always been Green’s goal.

He knows that it wasn't fair to Leaf, but also puts him at a disadvantage. By the time their journeys were over, Red and Green had understood everything about each other's battle strategy like it was their own. Green can't even remember if he had ever seen Leaf battle anyone other than him before. And for the life of him, Green can't understand why she’s here with six pokemon attached to her belt. But still, if she wanted a battle, he'd give her a battle (and not only because it was his job.)

"I thought you weren't interested in getting the badges?" Green says, gathering his wits and stuffing one of his hands into his pockets.

"I just wasn't ready the first time around. Now, though... it's more or less a personal thing. Are you ready?" With that, she reaches for her belt and takes off a pokeball.

Grabbing Alakazam's pokeball with his free hand, he sends her a grin, making a mental note to have her explain later. It's hard to admit this even to himself, but he doesn't know if he's felt this way about a battle since he and Red had stood across each other at the Indigo Plateau, eyes blazing and the tension in the room thick enough to cut with a knife. This was calmer by far, but Green's blood is still racing. "That's supposed to be my line. Hope you're ready to lose!"

The referee takes that as her cue and announces the beginning of the match.

Leaf smiles and tosses a great ball, releasing a gorgeous Rapidash with a shining coat onto the field. He can't help but raise a brow because, last time he checked, the large Rapidash was a runt of a Ponyta.

It's a close fight: Leaf has two pokemon down to low health, while Green has one. She's a fierce fighter and, if the level restrictions weren't implemented for every leader, he thinks he would have had a better chance. And he thinks that it says a lot about how much he's grown, because he's not all that ticked off at all at the idea of losing to her.

He remembers, shortly after Lance became the de facto Champion and before said Champion came knocking on his door asking him if he would like to take up the vacant gym in Vermilion, thinking that he should challenge Lance again and take back the title of Champion. He hadn't then though, because that was dirty to him. No matter how angry or hurt he had been, Red had beaten him fair and square and if he had to fight anyone for the Champion position, it was going to be him. Not that he was going to of course, because he loved his gym. He glances over at Leaf who is joyously hugging her Clefable who had won the match and walks over to Selina and takes both the badge and TM from her. He huffs, feeling strangely nostalgic. Leaf looks up at him once he starts walking towards her.

"Congratulations," he says slowly, pressing the Earth badge and Trick Room into her hand. "You've now collected all eight badges and are eligible to take on the Elite Four... you probably already know enough about Trick Room, so I'm not even going to bother explaining it."

Now though, the Elite Four don't stand a chance.

* * *

"Off to Victory Road now?" He asks once they exit the Pokemon Center. Leaf glances eastwards to the route that leads to Victory Road, looks south to Route 1, and then back up at Green, Clefable excitedly teetering at her side.

Where he had gotten Eevee and Red had gotten Pikachu, Leaf had been gifted with a Clefairy. Unlike both Red and Green, she didn't have a problem with evolving her starter. Of course, Green knew it was because her Clefairy had more or less dug for a moon stone in Leaf's bag himself - both Red and Green had been with Leaf at the time to see it.

"Not yet. I know the two of you were eager and all, but there’s this really cool concept about recuperating and taking your time. I'm gonna see my mom for a week. Maybe even two. It’s not like I have to automatically run there."

"I waited after I got the eighth badge!"

Leaf snorts and shakes her head, "What, three hours? Red did the same thing.”

Green is a little hesitant, because even though Red's been gone for nine months, talking about him still hurts, and he knows he's not the only one who feels that way either. There was a pretty large Red shaped hole in everyone's heart. Especially since the last few times they had seen one another hadn't been too pleasant. No one even knew if he was still even alive, seeing as he disappeared shortly after the incident at Cerulean Cave. "...I might have taunted him before he took on the eighth gym. But it took him two days to get through Victory Road and it only took me one."

Leaf rolls her eyes at him. “Really, Green?”

“Hey, I’m not the one who should be explaining right now. What’s up with the alias, _Blue?”_

Leaf laughs softly and reaches behind her to scratch her neck, looking as sheepish as she’s capable of being.

“I guess I just wanted the option to still have a sliver of privacy? When I was starting out, I figured that if I dropped out, I would be able to go back to Pallet and retire without anyone but my mother and the gym leaders who saw the resemblance between Red and I. And, honestly, I saw how the recognition got to Red; I don’t think he was ever ready for that.”

Green nods; it’s actually something he’s caught himself thinking about quite a few times since Red disappeared. ( _Was it because of him? Did he push Red when he wasn’t ready? Was it because of whatever happened at Cerulean Cave? Why didn’t Red just resign when it got to be too much for him instead of disappearing without a trace? Why didn't he tell anyone?_ ) For someone as quiet and reserved as Red, it was no wonder that the stress got to him. Hell, he’d never admit it, but sometimes the stress of being a gym leader and helping fix a city ravaged by a criminal organization almost got to him. Almost. But, he’s also aware that he thrives under stress. Red… well, Green’s not too sure.

“If - no, _when_ I become champion, I doubt it’s going to provide me with much privacy, but I think I’m ready. I want this.”

Green hums and rubs at his chin. “You’ve definitely improved at battling.  And you were the second best leader in our group, after me of course.”

“I guess that’s why you’re the gym leader and why I beat you, huh?” Leaf teases lightly, bumping shoulders with him.

“What? Nah, we need to have a fair fight after you win.”

Leaf hums thoughtfully and a brief silence falls between them for a moment as they near the edge of the city.

"Have... have you heard from him?" Leaf asks, her eyes on the sidewalk ahead. She looks calm and composed, as if she were talking about the weather rather than her missing twin brother. But that was the thing about Red and Leaf; the two of them always managed to be so composed, Red even more so than Leaf, while Green has always had the tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve.

Green bites the inside of his cheek. Sure, they hadn't been on the best terms when Red had disappeared, but that didn't mean he couldn't be worried about him when he suddenly goes missing. Hell, it didn't mean that Red wasn't his best friend anymore either. It was hard to believe that it had been almost been a year since he had vanished. Since the time they had met when they were kids, they had never been apart for too long. Before now, the longest that they had ever been apart was during their journey when they had to split up or the few months where Green had been eleven and a jerk and refused to be Red or Leaf’s friend. It was just bizarre not having him around. (Sometimes, when he was lost deep in his thoughts, he would spontaneously look over his shoulder to rant over whatever he was mulling over to Red. The problem with this was that Red was gone. It never feels good.)

"Not since he left," He answers, shuffling on his feet. "I don't have a damn clue where he could be."

Leaf sighs, her shoulders slumping slightly. "I figured... if you hear from him, tell me? Please?"

Green blinks before he gives her an utterly befuddled look. "Why wouldn't I? Anyways, if he contacts anyone first, it's gonna be you or your mom."

Leaf rubs at the back of her neck again. "I dunno, Green. He's my twin, but sometimes even I can't predict him."

Green snorts and rolls his eyes, nudging her with his elbow. "You know I'm in the same boat as you."

"...I wouldn't be too sure of that." is all Leaf says and, even though Green sends her a bewildered look meant to encourage her to elaborate, she keeps walking forward. The air feels heavy; about what is being left unsaid, about Red, about all of the little unresolved tensions they pushed to the side for years now, before they even started their journeys.

Green misses how it all used to be. He rolls his shoulders and lightly bites the inside of his cheek. He feels nervous, unsettled and uncomfortable almost; for all of his chatterbox tendencies he’s never been too big on opening up. But he forces himself to speak up anyways.

“Y’know… you better call me whenever you hear anything about him too, right? I, uh, I miss him too.”

Leaf looks up at him, looking almost shocked, before she smiles and looks back down the path. “Of course I’d let you know, silly.”

They stop walking once the trimmed grass leading out to Route 1 crunches underneath their feet, the tall grass only steps away.

“That’s my cue then, huh?” Leaf turns towards Green and hesitates for a moment before leaning in and giving Green a brief hug. He only gets to pat her on the back before she pulls back. “I know things have been weird, but don't be a stranger, yeah? That makes it even worse. No arguing about that either.”

Before Green can even begin to counter her, she walks forward and hops down one of the rocky ledges with ease; something they had mastered by the time they were eleven and decided to be daring and sneak out onto Route 1.

"Hey... You really better come back for a rematch after you become Champion." Green calls out just before she's out of hearing distance. "I can use my full powered team on you then!"

Leaf turns around and grins, wide and bright - the same one she shares with Red - and waves back at him. "You can count on it!"

"I'll kick your ass next time!"

"Ha, I wouldn't count on that!"

Green smiles, almost bittersweet as he turns on his heel and heads back to his apartment.

He can't remember the last time he went back to Pallet for more than a handful of hours.

* * *

_Lance looks so out of place in the Oak household that it's almost hilarious. It's not like the house is too small for him or anything - quite the opposite, actually - but  in Green's eyes, everything about Pallet is simple, more or less. From the dragon pokemon attached to his belt to the cape that cascades off the back of his chair and pools onto the floor, Lance is a man who is anything but simple._

_It was even more bizarre when Green remembers that he had idolized this man as a child; still did, if he was being honest. To this day, he can clearly remember when he, Red, and Leaf had crowded around the TV the night before the twins' eighth birthday and watched as Lance utterly destroyed a challenger in a manner of minutes, long before he was recognized as the leader of the Elite Four._

_And here he is, one of the strongest trainers in the world, accepting Daisy's offer of tea and letting Eevee sniff at his shoes when Vee's curiosity gets the better of him._

_"I'm sure you're are aware of Viridians... problem." Lance starts carefully once his patience for small talk has faded. Anybody with common sense knew about Viridian, especially in Pallet. The city had become a lot more run down in recent years and crime rates were continuously rising; largely influenced by the fact that the only gym leader they had had the past decade was often absent and an actual mob boss. So yeah, the once prosperous city had become more a less of a problem. Which was blatantly obvious, especially when you lived in Pallet. Living in the well-to-do suburbs of the city, it was only natural that stragglers and the occasional thug tried to cause trouble in town._

_"Of course, I have eyes, don't I?" Green quips, knowing that Daisy is probably covering her face  in embarrassment behind him, if the groan she makes tells him anything. But Daisy is well- accustomed to his wit at this point and besides, she's said worse before. For his credit, Lance looks unbothered by Green's sarcasm._

_"I won't beat around the bush any longer, then. After much deliberation, the Pokemon League would like to offer you the vacant Gym Leader position in Viridian."_

_After staring at Lance for a good eight seconds; in which Green feels a wide array of complex emotions, Green can't help but narrow his eyes as he sits back in his chair, taking a good look at Lance and questions in his most serious tone, "My gramps didn't put you up to this, did he?"_

_Lance raises an eyebrow, clearly bemused by the accusation. "No, not at all. I haven't spoken to Professor Oak since around the time Red went missing and before that, the League."_

_Green sinks into his chair with a quiet, almost inaudible sigh, Daisy automatically covering his shoulders with her hands. He tilts his head to look up at her. She looks shocked , if not shaken, but in-retrospect, Green suspects that he probably looked the same._

_"You can think it over, but if you're interested, we would put you through a customary trial period of six months or so. There would be rules and benefits, as well."_

_Green already know what he wants to do and what he needs to do. He looks back at Lance, and smiles cockily like he hadn't just been offered one of the most sought after positions in Kanto. "I don't have to think about it; when do I start?"_

_And Lance... well, he looks satisfied with that answer._

* * *

Roughly a week after Leaf wins the badge, the supposedly dormant Cinnabar volcano erupts for the first time in half a century.

The past few days had been quiet, with no announcement of a new Champion yet, seeing as Leaf had sprained her ankle helping the neighbors out with a chore, or so Daisy had explained.

When Lance's secretary calls and asks him if Viridian can hold temporary asylum for some of the people who are going to be misplaced, it's a no brainer that he agrees. After he hangs up, it only takes him a few minutes to run to the PC and swap out the proper pokemon. He orders his trainers to clear the gym out and to start making announcements around town for any households willing to take anybody in just in case the other cities don't have enough room. It almost seems like it takes no time at all before he's rushing outside, with two of the new trainers following him and asking demanding questions.

"How do we get it out to everyone in the city, sir?"

"Sir, what if you get hurt?!"

He calls out Pigeot and gives them a two fingered salute once he climbs up on the bird's back. "Use your brains, I know you two have them. Also, make sure you alert the Center that they're probably gonna get some refugees soon. Smell ya later!"

And, with that, Pigeot flaps her wings and Green is ten, fifteen, twenty feet in the air and his high strung trainers are becoming mere specks on the ground.

It barely takes him five minutes to fly over the rest of Viridian and the suburbs of Pallet. Up this high, Pallet seems even smaller than ever before, but even that thought is fleeting as there is soon nothing but ocean underneath him and the steady stream of smoke slowly becoming more visible. With a soft sigh, Green buries his nose into the soft plumage of Pigeot's neck and tries to sort out his thoughts.

In retrospect, he's glad that he got the chance to do so because the next few hours are hectic, to say the least. Cinnabar is sweltering, with its citizens running to save their most precious belongings, running to the evacuation boats. His pokemon end up having to help carry boxes and suitcases and someone almost tries to get his Machamp to carry a couch but he shuts that down quickly. As the day goes on and the weather becomes blazing, the sky dark gray with the heavy smoke pouring from the volcano, Green finds himself helping people carry boxes and even older men and women to the boats. He also finds himself teaming up with the other gym leaders that manage to make it to the island in time, a first since he became a leader.

Green knew what becoming a gym leader entailed. In moments of crisis, they were expected to drop everything and rush to the scene of an emergency, as well as guiding their cities and helping out the local community when need be. Viridan’s community had a lot of Team Rocket- shaped problems, but Green had always been a bit of a busybody and never really liked staying still for too long when he could be doing something productive; it made him restless. So honestly, he's more than glad to help out here.

He ends up teaming up with Misty of all people when they do a final sweep of the island. Her water pokemon are more than fierce enough to handle the heat and she's more than strong enough to help him pick up any people if they find anyone. The problem is, is that they don't exactly get along. At least, they never did in the past. Back when Green had been getting the badges, Misty had flat out told him that she hadn't liked his attitude and every time they had met since was... well, icy to say the least. Two hot tempered people just didn't mix.

"You were friends with Red, right?" She asks as they go through a cramped, catching him by surprise, seeing as they haven’t spoken about anything but the emergency any time they did bother speaking.  

"Still am, I think. Beats me. Haven't spoken to him since right after the Cerulean Cave incident."

Misty grimaces at the mention of the Cerulean Cave, but shakes her head and says, "Man... I thought you would know if Leaf didn’t."

Now, Green can't help but raise an eyebrow at that. "You know Leaf?"

"Well, duh. She challenged my gym a few months back and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the two of them are twins.

"No shit, they're practically identical. I mean, she told you her real name? Since she’s going by Blue for the challenge."

Misty shrugs and peeks into a house. "She told me after the battle. I was friends with Red too, you know."

"I didn't catch that memo," Green says, scanning the last house. "I think we're all clear."

"If you find him, sock him for me, yeah? And tell him to stop by the gym."

"I'm not gonna punch him... probably... But I will tell him to stop by."

They reach one of the final evacuation ships in silence until they climb aboard. If Green hadn’t been on his game today, he probably would have been shocked, but he doesn’t even jump when Misty claps him on the shoulder. He sends the swimmer a confused, almost skeptical look.

“Thanks… Maybe I was wrong about you. Maybe.”  

* * *

For the next few weeks, the media can't seem to shut up. Kanto's media is well known for being chatty and full of gossip, but something... unexpected happens.

Green more or less becomes a national hero.  

Seriously, he can barely walk out of the house or his gym without reporters getting in his face. He can’t turn on the news without seeing his own face. The interview offers come flooding in. The only other times he had experienced something like this was when he became Champion, Red became Champion, and then when Red went missing.

But he doesn't expect it on this level.

He knows that other gym leaders had all had similar rites, because they were all either strong enough to take on the Elite Four or become Champion in some cases - he personally remembered when tabloids had a strong fixation with Misty, Brock, and Sabrina and had been the only topics that the news would cover... but that was before the internet was huge in Kanto. This is the kind of attention he's been craving and he can handle it, but it’s overwhelming even for him.

'wow green, to think im best friends with a Celebrity™' Leaf texts him, along with a dozen or so overdramatic emoji's. 'you;ve trended on growler at least three times in the past week btw'

She sends him an article from Drillfeed with the headline: _"15 Examples Of How The New Viridian Gym Leader Is A Total Babe And Why You Should Think So Too."_

_'Everywhere you look nowadays, everyone seems to be talking about Kanto's newest gym leader Green Oak. Recently finishing a successful trial period at the Viridian Gym, Mr. Oak recently made headlines in a big way after lending a helping hand in Cinnabar when the previously dormant volcano erupted earlier this week. Alongside the gym leaders of Pewter, Cerulean, Vermilion, and Fuchsia, Mr. Oak came to aid Blaine, the gym leader of Cinnabar Island, while the leaders of Celadon and Saffron organized places for the displaced people of Cinnabar to stay. It's tradition for Gym Leaders to help in time of crisis, but the new Viridian Gym Leader jumped right into it and seemed to be in his element in a way that we haven’t seen from a fledgling gym leader in a while! Here’s what we know about the new, spicy Gym Leader taking the internet by storm:’_

And then the article starts to list facts about him, with pictures. Lots of pictures.

Hell, there's even a few pictures of him, Red, and Leaf from when they were on their journey collecting data for the Pokedex and met up on a quick pitstop. How the hell they got those, he’ll never know.

He doesn't really read the rest of the article, just scrolls through the list until he reaches the comment section... which is never a really good idea to read, but Green has always been known for being reckless anyways.

_'Sorry, most of them are really hot, but no one thinks Kanto has the best Gym Leaders XD Hoenn ftw!'_

_'Wtf noob of course Kanto always has the best gym leaders'!!!!!! especially right now are ypu like twelve????'_

_‘Ok, but Johto has Claire and Whitney’s Miltank. Not to mention CYNTHIA in sinnoh. That's some serious girl power. If they teamed up with Misty, Sabrina, and Erika and all of the other female members in the league, they can probably like… create a new league. How ideal can you GET. There’s been talk about this new trainer/coordinator in Hoenn too, who's been seen with Steven pretty frequently lately. People are guessing that she's his protege or something? Some magazines over here are going nuts over her! A lot of people are guessing that she's the next big thing! I think her name is May. What do you guys think about that?’_

_'Wow do u think he knows where champion red is?'_

_'He's not that special drillfeed :p'_

_'yeah when I fought him like a little over a year ago he was a total snob imo'_

_'dude, no way he gave me really good criticism when I challenged the gym last month. he totally the real deal guys.'_

_'Viridian has really high hopes for him!!! p.s he's even more handsome (and taller!!! his last name isnt the only thing thats a tree!!!) in person (//o\\\\)'_

_'I don't buy into this bullshit one bit. His grandfather is *the* Samuel Oak. Oak probably only has his position because he's riding on his grandpa's coattails. A camera crew with the league probably just told him where to pose on Cinnabar so he would look good. He probably isn’t that good of a battler.'_

The last comment has turned into a thread of arguments, with people claiming that they had challenged Green before he had even become Champion and a few after he became the leader and said he was absolutely no pushover. There were even one or two who said they had been on Cinnabar and that the original poster was, not only wrong, but was extremely disrespectful. But Green... well, it's nothing he hadn't heard before, especially when middle school kids were dicks. But his blood boils anyways and it takes all of his power for him to grit his teeth and exit out of the window.

 _'only 15 examples???? I really don't wanna see what theyre saying abt me on growler if this is all they’ve got to say. it’s abysmal tbh'_ is all he texts Leaf after he takes a good deep breath.

' _you really don't :)'_ she responds... and then sends him a bunch of screenshots from the Green Oak hashtag that make him feel like he's truly gone to hell.

* * *

_The Sevii islands are everything that Green has needed these past few weeks. It’s quiet here; quieter than anywhere else on the mainland, even the small town of Lavender, now that construction was starting on the Pokemon Tower. It’s warmer than the mainland, but that didn’t bother Green. Being on the coast of Kanto, Pallet was slightly warmer than the rest of the cities and towns up north anyways and the Sevii islands are even further south. Hoenn is only a few hours away by ship._

_Things have become odd back home. Every time he’s not in his room, Daisy is practically walking on eggshells around him and he doesn’t like it. It’s uncomfortable and it doesn’t help that whenever gramps is actually home, he always has a lecture prepared for Green._

“You’re being ridiculous; you should be happy for Red!” _is what his grandfather’s argument boiled down to nearly every single time. He hasn’t even seen Red since their battle. The only time it_ didn’t _seem to boil down to that was when his grandfather decided to send him to the Sevii islands on an assignment._

_It’s not that he’s isn’t happy for Red. He's not really angry with Red, not like Gramps, Daisy, and even Red himself seem think he is. Yes, he's bitter, but he's known all along that he and Red had the same goal. Since they were kids they had said that they were going to become champion and it happened, even if it was short lived for Green._

_He’s disappointed and unsure of what to do next, but he's not angry. At least, he's not angry with Red._

_There's a myriad of emotions inside Green that he doesn't know what to do with them. He doesn't know what to do next, now that he reached the goal that he had been aiming for since before he even knew how to read or write and it had been swept away from him in only a week. He doesn't know what to do to make himself breathe easy again. He hasn't had the chance to breathe in what feels like months._

_Maybe he is a little angry with Red. He really doesn't know._

_Eevee is jumping around at his feet, his tiny paws making prints in the damp sand. He’s made a game out of it, hopping in and out of his footprints, making circles around Green but carefully making sure that he doesn’t make his trainer trip and fall face first into the sand. Vee suddenly stops playing though, his nose twitching before his head jolts up to look towards the ocean. When Green notices it, he almost reaches for the pokeballs attached to his waist, but then decides against it. Vee is alert, but he isn’t growling. That’s always a good sign. A better sign is that he starts jumping in place on the soft sand, looking like he wants to run off and go join whatever he sees. He probably would if Green hadn’t trained him so well. Green’s gaze follows Vee’s line of sight and, when he finds what Eevee found just a short distance away on a pier._

_Red’s feet kick at the ocean. He looks serene and more relaxed than Green has seen him in months. His Pikachu’s heart shaped tail does the same, making a game of splashing Red. He smiles down at her and leans back on extended arms, letting the gentle light of the sunset wash over him. It's like some cheesy picture from a travel brochure but Green finds himself swallowing past a lump in his throat and his palms suspiciously sweaty anyways._

_Last time he checked, his grandfather had only sent him on an assignment. But it was an assignment for the Pokedex so he supposed that, champion duties or not, of course Red would be here too. Plus, gramps had been trying to get Green and Red to talk for months._

_He rubs his sweaty palms on his shorts and starts walking the brief distance, ignoring the sand that digs into his toes. Red tilts his head up and opens his eyes when he hears the soft, approaching footsteps, easily meeting Green’s eyes. For a fraction of a second, the breath catches in Green’s throat, but it's not because of the lighting._

_Even with the blazing sunset and the beautiful clear ocean sparkling behind him, the only thing Green can think is that Red looks more exhausted and sad than Green had ever seen him._

* * *

Green finds himself in Pallet again the day Leaf’s taking on the Elite Four due to Daisy begging him on the phone for nearly a week. More specifically, he finds himself in his grandfather’s lab again.

Things between him and his grandfather had always been… complicated. Green knew that his grandfather didn’t have to take him and his sister in, didn’t have to raise them after their mother got sick, but he chose to anyways the day his daughter had appeared on his doorstep for the first time in over a year, six months pregnant and clutching onto a seven-year-old Daisy’s hand. But there’s something to say about expectation when one grows up raised by one of the world’s leading scientists. Green has always been an overachiever, even when he was a child. His overachieving tendencies had made it so he became champion and it helped it him with aiding in the efforts to clean Viridian once and for all of anything involving Team Rocket.

But it’s not so simple when your own grandfather barely says anything that’s not a thinly veiled criticism.

He doesn’t really want to go to his grandfather’s lab, to be honest.  Daisy’s arms are around him the instant he walks into their childhood home for the first time in months. She’s warm and wise like always, always having time for him even though she's in the middle of running a successful business. The labs are cold and well, to be honest, he’s been trying to avoid his grandfather. But Daisy insisted that he at least go say hello to him and she could be even more stubborn than Green at times.

One of the younger aids that Green had never met before guides him to the back, like he hasn’t been running in and out of the lab since before he could remember.

To be honest, it’s not like he’s dreading the visit, but can’t help but feel like he’s a little kid again, even though he’s eighteen and he’s been living on his own for months now.

He knocks on the door to his grandfather's personal office with a, “Hey gramps, you in here?”

“Come in, Green,” gramps calls from inside. When Green lets himself in,

“I wasn’t expecting you to show up today Green! Why has it taken you so long to visit Pallet again, Green?” Professor Oak says, peering up from his paperwork briefly to look at Green. He doesn’t get up to give Green a hug or anything, but he didn’t really expect that. “I’ve been getting all of my updates about you from Daisy. And the news as well, which I have been meaning to talk to you about.”

Green tenses up slightly, but shrugs and closes the door behind him, making his way near the chairs near the desk. He crosses his legs and makes himself as comfortable as possible and tries to steer the conversation away from him. “Just haven’t really had the time, gramps. Viridian’s been pretty wild lately and I got my hands full. How have the Pokedex updates been going?”  

“It’s been going fine; I should have an upgrade for you in a few weeks. But that’s besides the point Green, we need to talk about Cinnabar. Why are you avoiding the topic?”

"I dunno, are you going to start lecturing me about how foolish I was to even go to Cinnabar?" Green says, hiding his balled hands underneath the table so he doesn't nervously rub his arm. For some reason, he just really doesn't want his grandfather to see him doing something that could be seen as childish.

Samuel takes his reading glasses off and places them off to the side. His age is starting to show more now than it ever did before.

“Well, Green, what you did at Cinnabar was very risky. As your grandfather and your guardian, I’m concerned about what happened.”

"Listen, I'm fine and so are my team. No one was hurt. ”

“You still took the risk, Green. You had no experience; you could have endangered more lives than just your own and your pokemon.” Gramps retorts, the expression on his face conveying that he could not believe he had to explain this to his grandson. That he's right, that it leaves no room for argument.

After eighteen years, he seems to forget that Green’s always had a short grip on his already short temper and an affinity for arguments. Green has been working on it, has even considered therapy, but there's just something about gramps that really sets him off sometimes.

"Gramps, if I hadn't been there, people might have died. It could have taken them hours to get everyone gathered up if we weren't there to help. It’s my job as a Gym Leader to do this kinda stuff. You _know_ that! Why can't you just accept that I actually did something good to help other people?"

"Because Green, it was reckless and you risked both your life and your pokemon's lives for the sake of your image!" After this grandfather proclaims this, the room falls eerily silent. Green's grandfather looks more uncomfortable by the second.

"...Do you think I helped out at Cinnabar for my image?!" Green demands in utter disbelief, his brown eyes wide in shock.

"Sometimes I don't even know anymore Green. You're my grandson and I love you... and, believe what you will, but I am immensely proud of you, but you have a tendency to act so recklessly that even I can’t predict what you’re going to do next at this point. Even if it means putting your pokemon in danger."

"Well, I can't believe you just said that to me." Green says, kicking his chair back and standing up. "You know, I've worked really fucking hard to get to where I am now. And I actually think I'm doing a good job, but my team is doing an even better job. So, I don't need you to tell me that I unnecessarily put them in danger or that I'm 'not raising them right.'"

Gramps almost looks a bit chastened, but still opens his mouth to speak, but Green beats him to it as he looks his grandfather in the eye.

"You know... I, I've tried so hard for years to be good enough for you, but that's pretty impossible, huh? I really shouldn’t even bother any more, should I?” Green shakes his head and starts walking away, I'll be with Daisy, don't bother looking for me."   

“Would you just-”

“Nope, sorry, my reckless tendencies are telling me to leave! Smell ya later, gramps.”

* * *

As expected, Pallet throws a huge party when Leaf comes back.

They had thrown one for both Green and Red, only a handful of days between one another, so it's not surprising at all that they throw as big of a celebration for Leaf. After all, she was the third champion to come from Pallet in less than a year.

Green knows what'll happen in a few days - has already started to happen considering the few members of press he had seen walking around town and the press conference Leaf was due to give at some point during the week. Reporters are going to start harassing the citizens of their little town about just what makes Pallet town so special? Green wouldn't be surprised if they even asked him, even though he was only champion for a total of five days.

Hell, he wasn't anxious to see what the news was going to be like tomorrow. He just hopes that his apartment isn't swarmed again tomorrow. Honestly, that was just fuckin’ rude.

Leaf has been making confused, if not concerned, glances at him for at least ten minutes now

"So? What's wrong? Daisy looks pissed and Professor Oak was here for like... five minutes. And normally, you’re the life of the party." Leaf asks him, her face bright and open, willing to listen to him even though this was her night. For those reasons, Green hesitates to tell her until she elbows him lightly in the ribs.

"Eh, had a fight with the old man, he accused me of only doing good things for my image; y’know, the usual." Green says, attempting to stay cool. “...I got really mad at him, though. He's wrong and shouldn't be treating me that way… But I guess I shouldn't have stormed off like that.”

Leaf grimaces and slings an arm around Green's shoulder.

"Well, you know I'm proud of you right? I think you've done a pretty damn good job lately. The fact that you can even say that is really amazing. Green from a year ago wouldn't be saying that kind of stuff." She says seriously, patting his shoulder comfortingly before her tone becomes more teasing. "You're becoming the wholesome pretty-boy-posterboy for the League Red and I always knew you would be."

Green shrugs her arm off and sends her a bewildered look. "Poster boy? What the fuck?"

"Oh, a bunch of nice old ladies and impressionable kids who don't know that the word 'fuck' is an integral part of your vocabulary." She informs, her voice taking on a playful cadence. "Red and I have known for years that the press would look past the sassy exterior and just eat you up. We ran a bet on it too... looks like I owe him a milkshake next time I see him."

"...Are you drunk already?"

"No, doofus. Just... reminiscing." She sighs wistfully, but Green's even less sure that she's not tipsy. For a moment, it's almost completely silent between them, except for Leaf’s light humming.

"Hey, uh... I'm… proud of you too, I guess." Green murmurs, just loud enough for her to hear.

“You ‘guess,’ huh?” Leaf laughs softly and leans her head against his shoulder. Sure enough, Green can faintly smell wine. “Remember when we first left? Who would have thought that all three of us would end up becoming champion?”

“Well, I was pretty damn sure that I was going to be.” He was still trying to deal with the bitterness he sometimes felt when thinking about how, even if he was champion and was always going to be in the Hall of Fame, it was only for five days. Still not the shortest tenure as champion ever recorded, but not nearly as long as he would have liked.

“I think everyone in Pallet knew _you_ were going to. Daisy’s told me about how you used to run around No one really expected me or Red.” Leaf says, almost sounding sleepy. “It seemed like everyone expected Red to accept a position with the Professor and thought I was going to help mom out with her business.”

“...I always kind of figured that Red wouldn’t do that. Honestly, I can’t see him working with Gramps more than the Pokedex internship.” The Pokedex internship had been something else and had been part of the excuse for them to start their journey. Red had been the only one of them to completely finish it, with all 150 pokemon native to Kanto, but that was just because Green was smart enough to not go into Cerulean Cave. And, if Green’s memory is correct, his grandfather actually had offered Red a job as an aide shortly after Red came back from the hospital (covered with bruises and sporting a broken arm and collarbone and several broken ribs). “Gramps will probably offer him something whenever he decides to come back. Honestly, I could never see you working at your mom’s place for too long.”

“I couldn’t either. I needed something bigger than that… And I got it.” The happiness in Leaf’s voice is noticeable. “Red wouldn’t accept it.”

“Nope; not in a million years.”

As their conversation dies down, a few of Leaf’s old friends from school - the ones that had never really liked Green and honestly, vice versa - come and decide to capture Leaf’s attention.

“You can’t hog the Champion by yourself, Oak.”

“Well, it’s a good thing she’s capable of making her own decisions then, huh?”

Some of their faces twist up nastily and one of the guys - Ichiro, Green thinks - starts opening his mouth, but Leaf stands up.

“Hey, there’s plenty of me to go around. I’m allowed to spend some time with Green, I’ve seen you guys more than I’ve seen him lately.”

As the night goes on, he ends up sitting with Delia at one of the tables. She looks... tired. Proud, but tired. He hasn't seen much of her since he became gym leader, partially because he seldom made it to Pallet town these days. She looks better than he had heard, from both Daisy and Leaf but knows that some days are probably better than others.

“This is going to be great for Leaf,” Delia says, her eyes shining more than Green had seen in a few years. She was always one of the younger mothers in Pallet, but she’s aged a bit since he last saw her - stress, the gray hairs at her temples tell him - but she’s still keeping her head up high. “She was incredible out there. I never thought that she would become Champion too.”

“I think she’s gonna be a great champ.” Green replies, “It’s not easy, but she can definitely handle it.”

Delia looks over at him, a thoughtful expression on her kind face. “You’ve grown up quite a bit, haven’t you Green?”

Green scratches the back of his neck, suddenly hyper aware of his nervous tick. “You and Daisy both seem to think so.”

“I’ve been seeing all the news stories lately, young man.” Delia says, but her words aren’t harsh. She smiles at him warmly, the crows feet at the corners of her eyes wrinkling slightly, and pats his hand. “I’ve seen you grow up, for the most part. The three of you were always running around and getting into trouble. Now here you are, you’re fixing Viridian and are now a region-wide hero! Leaf’s the champion! Red… I don’t know where he is; he’s always had such talent for trouble. But he’s a smart boy and I hope that he knows when to come home. I’m so proud of all you, you know that right?”

Well, gramps and Daisy might be the ones more focused on science in their family, but Green was by no means unintelligent.

“Probably, ma’am.”

Delia smiles, warm as always. “There's no probably about it; you three have all done amazing things.”

He spends the rest of the evening talking to his best friends’ mother and can't help but wonder what Red is doing right now.

* * *

‘ _here's another article about our ~*romance*~’_ Leaf texts him after roughly a week of radio silence, ‘ _apparently we've been private w/our ~*relationship*~ is bc of Red. ive been laughing for 20 mins’_

Green wipes the sweat off his brow as he reads his texts, Arabella and Ida are both bent in half and clutching at their knees, trying to get their breath back, while Bonita stretches out their back. Green is somewhat suspicious of all of them at the moment, seeing as none of them actually complained before training started forty minutes ago.

Leaf has been the champion for a little over a year and the public still can’t seem to get enough of her. The media can't seem to get enough of him either, which something he probably wouldn’t have been able to say even just over a year and a half ago, when Red had just gone missing and he had been lost and angry. It was almost funny how things could change.

Hell, maybe it would have been funny, if Red hadn't been missing. He knows that Red is probably (hopefully) ok, knows that Red is an adult (Leaf had spent their birthday with their mother, hoping for a sign of Red returning). He wants to think that Red was out there somewhere, thinking of them, trying to get home. He wonders if Red ever thought of him like Green thinks of him.

“He actually stepped down from his position before he was discharged after Cerulean Cave,” Lance had explained to both Leaf and Green one of the rare times they had been able to question him. “After he gave his report, he told me he wanted to leave, but he never said anything else afterwards. I figured that he would take a break and change his mind, but… well…”

It's not like they haven't looked. Whenever they got the chance, they did their own immature investigations. A few weeks after Leaf became champion, Leaf, Green, and Delia had sat down and actually hired a private investigator. But it had been no luck, with not a hide or hair of Red. Wherever Red had gone, he went somewhere no one would find him.

Life went on.

Gossip rags and the general public continued to think that Green and Leaf were dating, despite the fact that Green had gone on a few dates with men over the past few months and had one or two relationships that were on the shorter side. But the media liked to conveniently overlook the fact that he was, for the most part, very gay.

‘i’m not gonna even bother to read this, y’know’ he texts back.

‘don’t worry i’ll read it to you when we meet up at the diner next week :)’ she texts back almost instantly.

They’ve made it a mission to meet up at least once a month for lunch at the little Viridian diner Leaf discovered, no matter how busy their schedules were. If they would meet up more than once, that was great too, but was a rarer occurrence the busier both of them got.

Well, Leaf also did barge into Green's apartment last week, on the verge of tears because Lance was 'being an asshole.' The past few years had shown the two that Lance... was actually a really cool person, even if the cape was kinda pretentious. So, Green had been a bit confused, until she had furiously shown him a newspaper that declared that Team Rocket were recently seen in the rural town of Azalea in Johto. Azalea was under Lance's jurisdiction as Champion of the Johto League, so he couldn't exactly let Leaf go and infiltrate Johto. ‘ _It’s not professional would make the League look bad,_ ’ Leaf had said in an exaggerated imitation of Lance’s voice once she calmed down some, sitting on Green’s couch and scratching Vee behind the ears. ‘ _Does he think I’ll get in the way or something_?’

So, he had let her storm around his apartment, ranting and raving about the resurgence of Team Rocket.

He knew that they were sickening and hated them like anybody with common sense, but Team Rocket had always been a very personal thing for Red and Leaf. While Leaf hadn't been there with Red to witness Team Rocket's final moments, - because, honestly Red had always been the most reckless of the three of them despite what everyone seemed to think and never thought things through, ergo Cerulean Cave and his continuing disappearance - he had written down everything for her. And, one of the rare times they met before Indigo Plateau, he had told Green too. He doesn't know the full depth of everything, because that's really between Delia and the twins, but what he’s figured out over the years wasn't pretty or storytime material. But, well... he had fought Giovanni too, for his eighth gym badge, and even if Red hadn't pointed it out, he had held his suspicions anyways. It was everyday you met a mob boss who looked similar to two your best friends, after all.

So, if Leaf ends up breaking a mug, it's fine.

If she ends up shedding a few tears and asking him what he thinks Red would do, if Red was already doing something to stop Team Rocket (again), if it would lead her to finding her brother after nearly two years, that's fine too. (Even though it does leave Green feeling strange when the conversation completely turns to Red and they start reminiscing, like they're in their sixty instead of in their late teens. If he feels shaken up when he realizes just _how much_ he misses Red... well, that's for him to know.)

It's fine.

She had been on the down low a majority of the week, but he's almost glad to see that she's back to harassing him. Almost.

‘ _don’t you have work to do stop texting me,’_ Green shoots back, turning to his trainers and barks, “Five more minutes and then we’re starting another set.”

Simultaneously, they all groan, but continue their stretches.

 _‘don’t tell me what to do viridian boy,’_ she texts back, lighting fast. ‘ _we’re not all workaholic’s here, i have plenty of time to harass you._ ’

Everyone, it seems, is finally acting like themselves at least.

* * *

Green decides to visit Cinnabar again on a whim. It's almost completely empty now, except for the small pokemon center set up for those who wanted to see the wreckage, were on their way to Seafoam Islands, or even the rare case where a swimmer had been injured and ended up washing ashore.

It's nothing like it had been before; Green had seen the city when it had flourished and had seen it collapse. Now, he was seeing it when it was non-existent. It was pretty fucking incredible what nature could do in an instant. The last time he had been here, there had been houses, parks, restaurants, _people_. Now though, it was empty except for the Pokemon Center and the volcano, obviously. A light, sea breeze blows by, cooling down Green’s skin. None of that even mattered. Life went on, the Earth continued to rotate and move on no matter what happened. A little island like this wasn't anything in the grand scale of things.

"Oi," a voice drawls out from behind him in what is definitely not a Kantonian accent. "You're Green, right? Gym leader of Viridian city? I've been lookin’ for you!"

All of that is said before Green can turn around, but once he does, he is greeted by a bright, eager grin. Standing a few feet away is a teenager who can't be older than sixteen, dressed in bright, fashionable clothes and holding a skateboard. In fact, Green knows for a fact that he's sixteen, because the boy in front of him is the Champion of the Johto League. Green had seen the televised battle between the boy - Gold, he thinks - and Lance and it had been something else to say the very least. The kid was impressive in a battle and normally, Green would jump at the chance to battle someone who was strong, not to mention this kid was strong enough to beat Lance and become Champion. But well… Green’s not exactly feeling too normal today.

"You're the Champion of the Johto League, aren't you?" Green asks, leaning his weight on one of his legs.

The boy brightens up. "That's me! The name's Gold Kaneko. Your gym trainers said that I would find you here!”

Gold seems to radiate excitement with every passing second, as if he can’t wait to lay it all out

"Sorry, I'm not really in the mood to battle right now," Green admits, scratching the back of his head. "I wouldn’t be able to give you my all. But if you come to the Gym in a few days, I'll be sure to give you a real battle then. Plus, League rules and all that shit. They probably wouldn’t be cool with one of the nurses temporarily becoming a referee."

"Aww, I traveled all this way too," Gold says, but from his cadence, to the easy way his arms hang at his sides, he doesn't seem too disappointed. "But that's fine be me... this time! I think this island's pretty neat and I caught some cool pokemon on the way here."

"Cinnabar used to be a lot nicer, y'know. Not all barren and gross like this. But the Earth was like ‘Hey, this island doesn't really matter. Let's mix things up a bit.’”

As if to prove a point, Green kicks at some of the ash and rocks at his feet.

“Yeah, I've seen the pictures dude!” Gold nods, his hat nearly flying of his head. “Pretty dang cool, if you ask me. Nature, y’know? There’s nothin’ like this place in Johto. We got mountains and stuff, obviously. No volcanoes though.”

“The gym was pretty cool here too, y’know. This place wasn't all volcanoes.”

"I know, man! Y’know, you don't seem as crabby as people said you are! You kinda remind me a little of a friend of mine, actually." Gold exclaims, his smile getting a little warmer. He reaches up and sheepishly scratches the side of his nose. “Yer both kinda prickly in different ways, but nice when it comes down to it.”

Green raises an eyebrow at the younger gremlin. “Thanks...I guess? Listen, if you want a battle, it'll probably have to wait until next week.”

“That's cool! So like, do you think all the water type pokemon have abandoned this place, or do you think I’ll actually catch somethin’?”

That's how Green meets Gold.

* * *

The first time they battle, Green ends up losing by the skin of his teeth.

It doesn't burn Green inside to give him a badge. He honestly doesn't mind that he lost. Next time, he'll win.

He doesn't know how there will be a next time, because there's a good chance Gold won't want to battle again, but who knows. Of course, this kid seems to like blowing past all of Green’s expectations and shows up outside demanding that they go celebrate at lunch.

Gold is way too friendly, smiling at everyone who looks their way in awe. Of course, Green isn't completely cold, but he's nothing compared this this kid who practically drags him to the nearest diner in Viridian. It's close to the gym, so Green finds himself visiting it frequently.

It's a new place, but feels older. The walls are painted tacky neon colors, in shapes that are similar to patterns from ten years ago. But the food is good and the server's don't make too much of a fuss. Green likes it.

"So, are you going after the Kanto badges now too, kid?" He asks, spearing a piece of lettuce with his fork.

"I dunno! I like battling, so maybe. But I don't want to be the champion or anything, even though battling her would be cool." And then Gold perks up. "You're dating her right?"

"No, that's..." Gross. "Ugh. She's just my best friend."

“Oh, I see. Huh, I wanna battle her, but I don’t want to take her title from her. I’m not like, tryna become Lance or anything and run both Leagues. Still dunno how he could do that for so long.”

Green shrugs because he can't really see it either. Lance really was one of a kind. “Willpower I guess.”

“...Is that why he wears the cape? Is it a dragon master thing?”

“Huh? I think he just likes to be dramatic, kid.”

“No, really! One of the gym leaders in Johto is a dragon master and she's super intense too! Actually, I think Clair is might be Lance’s cousin? She wears a cape too.”

“...Capes aren't hereditary, Gold.” Green replies, never imagining that to be a sentence he would ever have to say.

“Hey, you never know! They like, lived in a cave. Lance seems like the kinda guy who would grow up in a cave.”

Green nearly chokes, but Gold completely ignores it.

“Have you ever gone to Johto before?” Gold asks, eyes gleaming. “It’s really different from Kanto! I guess we’re more country than you guys? There’s a few big cities, but they’re mainly pretty old ones. Ancient history and stuff, y’know? But there _is_ Goldenrod! It’s like this place, but a little smaller. There’s a bunch of stuff to do too, it’s really fun!”

Green shrugs softly after clearing his throat, “Gramps has made a few trips out to Johto and he took us with him when my sister and I were pretty young. Don’t really remember it much, though.”

“Wow, really?!” Gold exclaims, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. “You’re gonna have to come by some day! My town is kinda like Pallet; it’s pretty small and quiet. I can introduce you to my friends, too! Kris and Lyra are Professor Elm’s assistants, but they end up doing a lot of field work so they know a lot of cool places, believe it or not! Not as many as I do, of course. And my friend Sil-”

“Hey, slow down for a second,” Green interrupts, leaning his chin on the palm of his hand. “You’re talking about approximately five different things at once. You’ve been to Pallet before?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, well… the Magnet Train in Goldenrod was under construction after I beat the Elite Four and Tohjo Falls is like, super close to New Bark Town and there was no way I was gonna wait an entire month for the train to be repaired!” Gold explains, gestures and all. “It’s actually a really funny story how I found out!”

The rest of lunch is mainly just Gold excitedly explaining things about Johto; his accent getting thicker the more passionate he gets. It gets to the point where even the people around them stop to listen Gold’s stories about his adventure through both Johto and Kanto.  

Oddly enough, Green doesn’t really mind it.

* * *

"There's a super strong trainer on top of Mount Silver," Gold starts during their next meeting, kicking his feet restlessly. They're inside of a fast food joint a few buildings down from the fighting dojo in Saffron. They've been meeting there every few weeks or so for rematches; currently Green had 4 wins, Gold had 3, with 2 draws. "It looked like he had been there a while and I know you love a strong battle so I thought, 'hey, Green would probably like to fight this guy.' Have you heard of him? He's real popular on the forums right now."

Green raises an eyebrow and puts his spoon down. Who the hell willingly stayed atop of Mount Silver? Not only was it freezing, but it was virtually unlivable: with the occasional rock slide being  reported, but there was also the fact that little greenery grew up there and little natural food sources. "Haven't been on the forums in at least a year. What's this guys' name?"

"I dunno, he didn't say anything. But he was probably the strongest trainer I ever fought. I’m real good, but I probably only won because I was lucky," Gold confesses, "and even then, Teddy was on the brink of fainting. His Pikachu alone knocked out two members of my team in like three minutes!"

For some strange reason, Green can't seem to breathe. An incredibly strong trainer with a Pikachu at an idiotic location? No way was that just a coincidence.

"Wait, what did this guy look like?"

"Huh? Dark hair, really skinny, pretty pale. He was wearin' a baseball hat though, so I didn't really get to see his face. He was dressed super unfit for the weather, though.  And he really didn't say a thing the entire time! Even when givin’ his pokemon an order’!”

Dear God, that really does sound like him. He swallows past the lump in his throat, places his hands on his hips so they don’t start to quiver, and gets a good look at Gold, who looks more confused than ever.  In the pit of his stomach, Green feels something oddly like hope.

"Wa-wait, wait, wait a sec. You're trying to tell me that _you_ … you beat this guy?" he questions, not knowing if he wants to laugh or cry.

"Yeah, like I said!" Gold nearly whines, but then takes a good look at Green's face and adopts a concerned expression. Huh, it seems that even the most excitable of people could have their moments. "Hey, you ok?"

No, Green thinks, he's not okay. If he's right, and he usually is, then his best friend had been hiding on a fucking mountain for who knows how long, had been beaten, and now he has the strange urge to ask Gold for a photo?

"Yeah, yeah, I'm peachy... it's just," Green pauses and figures out a way to word this. Red was very famous in both Kanto and Johto and his disappearance a little over three years ago had only made his popularity skyrocket, as people became fascinated with the mystery of only Champion who ran away, of the person who catalyzed the end of Team Rocket. Not only that, but their old rivalry was something well-known in the media too, to the point where some sketchy outlets had accused Green of attempting to off Red or something before Green had become a hero at Cinnabar, which was both idiotic _and_ infuriating. But well... Gold was actually a good kid and if he had wanted to say something to the press, he would've by now. He scratches his cheek and says,

"I'm guessing you know who Red is, huh?"

 

**Author's Note:**

> Oh BOY!!! Ok hey, thanks for taking the time to read this! I've been working on this boy for... an embarrassing amount of time, but I love this AU a lot!  
> SO some Notes:  
> -this was read over by my good pal izzi i love u izzi  
> -upcoming chapters will follow the main three but will interchange! next chapter will focus on leaf.  
> -they're like ehhh ~18/19ish in this fic and started their journey when they were ~15/16ish! green is a little bit older than the twins  
> -gold's name Gold Kaneko literally means gold gold child thanks for coming to my ted talk  
> -chapters of this fic are not guaranteed to be super long!! this is really just a relaxation fic for me because school is like a big stressie!!
> 
> I feel like I'm missing some stuff here but if I am just ask me anything you're confused about here or on my twitter @groovecrusader :')!!!


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